88 – two rollercoasters
Alexander Ovechkin showed the whole world how to celebrate the New Year.
The captain of “Washington” went to the home game with “Montreal” when the chimes had already sounded in Moscow. But in the American capital it was a little after four o’clock in the afternoon, and there was still time to play hockey and be in time for a table with Russian salad, champagne and tangerines.
After the first period, “Washington” led 2-0, and the first goal was organized by Evgeny Kuznetsov. And after the break, Alexander Ovechkin took over. Halfway through the game, he received a pass from defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and put the puck in the Canadians goal from the left corner.
From the start of the third period, Ovechkin achieved the majority. Everything was classic there: he was sent the puck into the left free pass circle, and from there Ovi fired like a cannon.
And in the 57th minute, when it was useless to shoot the goalkeeper – Montreal was already losing with the score of 2: 8 – Ovechkin broke through like a rhinoceros on the left side, landed a turn and sent the puck into the net.
His #806 NHL career goal!
Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 stands at 88 goals.
Symbolically – two rollercoasters. Right at number eight, Alexander Ovechkin performs in Washington.
And now you can also eat with Olivier!
Let’s not forget Kuznetsov. In the first half, he was hit in the face, but he played the game to the end and scored an assist hat-trick. Belarus striker Aleksey Protas scored two assists. In general, all good guys.
In a nutshell, Ovechkin destroyed Montreal. And that’s when some Canadian activists wrote a petition to their government to ban Ovi from entering the country for NHL games.
We received such a response from Ovechkin. Although, of course, Alexander the Great did not even notice their attempts.
After this match, Ovi has 26 goals. This is the third place in the list of the best scorers of the season in the NHL. Only Buffalo’s Tage Thompson (27) and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (32) are ahead. I wonder if Ovechkin can beat them to win his tenth Maurice Richard Trophy – the league’s leading scorer award?
Additionally, Alexander was third in NHL history among those who played the most seasons, while scoring more than 25 goals. First up here is Gordie Howe (20), second is Jaromir Jagr (18), and third is just Ovechkin (17), who shares that spot with Mike Gartner.
Closing out the calendar year, Ovi scored a second hat-trick in December. And in total, Ovechkin entered the top six players in the history of the league by the number of “tricks with a hat”. The hierarchy looks like this: Wayne Gretzky (50), Mario Lemieux (40), Mike Bossy (39), Brett Hull (33), Phil Esposito (32) and Alexander Ovechkin (30).
Yes, it was a great day! A beautiful end to the year 2022. And now you can also eat with Olivier!
Ovechkin: I love playing hockey
After the match, Russian defender Alexander Alekseev presented the challenge team award – a tightly woven rope – to Alexander Ovechkin. It’s such a reward for the game’s best player, who is recognized in the locker room by the Capitals players themselves.
“Today everyone did well, but a hat-trick is a hat-trick,” Alekseev said. Ovechkin was also given a dynamometer, and at the cry of his comrades he squeezed it with all his might. The result was not so impressive, because there was no outburst of emotions. But that only means that Ovi left all his strength on the ice.
When reporters approached, they first asked Ovechkin:
– Why do you like scoring so much against Montreal? You played 51 games against this Canadian club and scored 38 goals.
“It’s not about Montreal,” Ovechkin replied. “I love playing hockey.
– “Washington” today sold two out of four majority attempts. Why are you doing so well in this component?
“I think the power play is the key to our success. The course of the match can be changed only by majority and power play. Of course, since the start of the season, we have lost a number of key players. But the other guys who play in those positions have to create chances and do their job well.
– Recently, Gustafsson, Stroum, Lindgren have just added…
Guys get hurt. And we sign good players, and now you can see how they play. They act tough and very smart. They are experienced guys, and that helps us. Obviously, before the start of the season, we were in a difficult position. Brownie got hurt right away, then Carly, Osh. And then other guys took their place.
… In general, Alexander Ovechkin played this night in the form of a classic Santa Claus. He is also tall, already gray-haired – and brings gifts to everyone. And above all, he made all his fans happy, all of hockey Russia!
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
